Toy horse



Badly 1 1924. 1,500,033

A. POLLMAN TOY' HORSE Original Filed Nov, 1'7 1917' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1July 1 19,24. 1,500,033

A. POLLMAN TOY HORSE Original Filed Nov.. 17, 1917 2 smu -spam 2Patented July 1, 1924.

UNl'l'ED STATES ARTHUR POLL-MAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

TOY HORSE.

Substitute for application Serial No. 202,665, filed. November 17, 1917.This application filed January 29, 1923. Serial No. 615,679.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that I, ARTHUR POLLMAN, a citizen of the United States,residing at New York, in the county of New York and State of New York,have invented new I and useful Improvements in Toy Horses, of

which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to hobby-horses designed to be actuated andcaused to move forward by the weight of the rider and is the inventionconstituting the subject of my prior application filed Nov. 17, 1917,Serial No. 202,665.

An object of the invention is to produce a hobby-horse in which the rearlegs are pivoted to the body and normally retained at a determined angleby spring means be-' tween the said legs and body, the pivotal shaft ofthe legs having a lever secured thereon, and to this lever is securedthe saddle of the hobby-horse. so that the weight of the rider upon thesaid saddle will swing the lever and swing the rear legs of thehobby-horse against the spring connection between the said legs and thebody of the horse, and when such pressure or weight is relieved, by therider elevating himself on the stirrups connected with the toy, thespring will return the said legs to their initial osition, thus causingthe toy to automatical y move in a forward direction, means beingprovided to prevent a movement of the said toy in a rearward direction.

It is a further object of the invention to reduce a wheeled toy, in thenature of a iiobby-horse, wherein the rear legs will be swung at thepleasure or convenience of the user of the toy to cause the said toy tomove in a forward direction, the front portion of the toy beingpivotally connected to the rear portion thereof, so that the front wheelmay be readily arranged at a desired j angle with respect to the rearwheels, and consequently, the toy may be propelled and directed inaccordance with the wishes of tremely simple construction, comparativelythe user.

It is. a further object of the invention to produce a progressing toy,in the nature of a hobby-horse, which shall be of an exple andsatisfactory reduction of my improvement to practice, and in which,

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a progressing hobby-horse constructedin accordance with the present in invention.

Figure 2 is an approximately central ver-' tical longitudinal sectionalview through the same.

Figure 3 is a sectional view approximately on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure l is a sectional view approximately on the line 47-4: of Figure2.

The body ofthe toy is formed of two sections 5 and 6, respectively, thefront legs 7 being integrally formed with the forward section 5'and therear legs 8 are connected to the rear section 6 through the medium of apivot or shaft 9, the said shaft being journaled in suitable openings inthe sides of the rear section 6. Both the front section 5 and the rearsection 6 are preferably hollow -and are provided with a pair of spacedtransverse connecting members 10 and 11, respectively, the ends of thesame overlying each other, and passing through this overlying portion isa pivot 12. By this means, the sections 5 and 6 are hingedly connected,and the head of the hobby-horse has arranged thereon, the usual bridle13, to the bit of which are secured the reins 14. The legs 7 for thefront section 5 are connected at their lower ends by a pivot 15 andjournaled upon this pivot, between the said legs 7 is a wheel or roller16. The rear legs 8, are also connected by a pivot or shaft 17, andupon. the said shaft are journaled rollers 1818, the said rollers, upontheir confronting faces being provided with ratchet wheels 19,respectively, the said ratchet wheels being engaged by gravitationaldogs 20 whereby to prevent the wheels or rollers 18 turning in onedirection, or in a rearward direction with respect to the toy. Thenumeral 21 designates a. pin or shaft on which the dogs 20 are hinged orjournaled and the numeral 22 designates a helical spring having one ofits ends connected to the said pin or shaft 21 and its other endconnected to the belly portion of the rear section 6, as indicated bythe. num'eral23. This spring isof sufiicient strength to normally retainthe rear body portion, 6, is a lever 24, and to. the

outer end of this lever is secured the saddle 25. The section 6 isprovided witha cutaway portion 26 Within which the-saddle25 and theouter end of the lever 24: plus, the said cut away portion beingconcealed bythe sides of blanket member for the saddle. The saddle isprovided with stirrup straps 27' carrying stirrups 28. The stirrups 28,however, or if desired, the lower ends of the straps 27 are secured tothe rigid front portion 5 of'the toy, and it will be apparent that whenthe weight of the user of the toy is disposedhpon the saddle 25, thelever 24' will be swung downwardly, rocking the shaft 9 moving the legs;8-, together with the rollers 18 carried thereby in a rearwarddirection. The downward movement of the saddle and lever 24 may belimited bycontacting with the upper transverse member 11 secured in therear section 6, and when the rider, who has his feet arranged in thestirrups 28 straightens his legs so that the saidstirrups 28 willreceive his weight, the saddle 25 and the lever 24, through the mediumof the spring 22 connected to the legs 8 and the body section 6 willswing-the said legs in a forward direction, and a continued oscillationof the lever 24' will cause the toy to move in a forward or progressivedirection.

By providing the rear of' the toy with the two spaced wheels or rollers18 and the front thereof with a single wheel or roller 16, the toy willbe effectively balanced and easily steered. If desired, the wheels 18may have their peripheries roughened to effectively grip the surface onwhich the toy is arranged. The rear legs 8, together with the lever 24and the saddle 25 provide. in reality, a substantially L-shaped lever.The dogs 20 engaging with the ratchet wheels 19 of the wheels 18, aspreviously stated, hold the wheels 18 against rotation in a rearwarddirection, and lock. the said. wheels to the rear legs 8, when the uppermember, comprising the elements 24 and 25 of, the l.- shaped lever, aredepressed. The surface upon which the toy'is arranged serves as afulcrum for. the wheels 18 in the downward" swinging ofthe members 24and 25, the forward portion ofthe toy being relieved from strain, duringthis movement is; projected or propelled in a forward direction. Whenthe rider elevates himself in the stirrups 2,8, as previously stated,the weight. of the rider will be maintained by the front or forwardportion 51 of the toy'permitting the spring 22 to swing the legs 8' totheir initial position, the. wheels or rollers, 2Q revolving over thesurface, during thisaction of the L-sh-aped lever, so, that the movementof the toy will simulate a galloping movement of the hobby-horse.

lVhile I have illustrated and described the improvement in connectionwith hobbyhorse, it is, of course, to be understood that any other formof quadrupeds may be substituted in lieu of the figure of the horse,and, it is believed, from the foregoing description, when taken inconnection with the drawings, that the construction and operation ofthedevice will be apparent without further detailed description.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim is 1". In aprogressinghobby-horse, a hollow body comp-rising two hinged" sections,a rollerjournaled between the legs at the lower ends thereof oftheforward section, a shaft passing through the rear section and connected'with the rear legs therefor, spaced rollers journaled on the said rearlegs at the outer ends thereof, means for preventing the movement of therollers in one direction, spring means between the rearlegs and the;body for normally retaining said legs at a determined" angle withrespect to the body, a normally horizontally disposed lever secured tothe shaft, and" means forl'imitingthe downward swinging movement of"such lever.

2 A progressing hobby-horse, comprising; two hinged hollow sections, theforward section being integrally formed with legs, a friction rollerjournaled between the legs, L-shaped lever pivotally connected to therear section, and" the vertical membersof the said lever being'shaped toprovide the rear legs of] the toy, a shaft journaled between said rearlegs at theouter ends thereof, friction rollers journal'ed; on the saidshaft, rigid wheels on said rollers, d'ogs engaging said rigid wheels,and spring means between said rear legs and the rear section of the;body for normally retaining the L-shaped levernormall'y at a determinedpositionwith respect to the body.

3. In a progressing hobby-horse, a body comprising two hollow sections,the front section having depending membersshapedto simulate the front ofthe hobby-horse, a ground roller journaled between said legs, transverseplates between the sides of'both of the sections at the confronting endsthereof, a pivot pinpassing through said plates to hingedly connect thesections, supportingstirrups secured to the front section, afleXiblegn-idin-g element secured to the front section, a shaftjournaled in the sidesof' the rear section adjacent the rear endthereof, depending members shaped to simulatethe rear legs of thehobby-horse secured to said shaft, propelling rollers journaled betweenthe said rear legs, a rigidwheel on each of} said rollers, dogsbetweenthe legs and rigid wheels for preventing the rotary movement ofthe rollers in one direction, spring means between said rear legs andthe rear section end of the lever and arranged in the path of of thebody for normally retaining the legs contact with the upper referred totransverse at a desired angle with respect to the body, connectingmember for the sides of the said 10 a lever secured to the shaft in thehollow rear portion of the body.

5 rear section on the body and having its for- In testimony whereof Iafiix my signaward end received in an opening in the ture. body, asaddle secured to the said forward ARTHUR POLLMAN.

